Received a bid on house

billy_martin

Hi,
We've put our house on the market and received a bid of 310k for it. We bought it in Dec 2005 in Leixlip for 365k.
The estate agent starts the bidding at 285k.
Last week there were 3 parties still bidding.
The one remaining bidder put in a 'final' bid of 310k.
My wife is keen to tell the estate agent on Monday, that we'll except.
But I'm thinking we should tell them that we're considering and give it time for other bidders to enter the market for our house.
A house up the road went for 320k this year, so I think it can go higher.
My wife says she fears the bidders might pull out.
But I think the estate against just wants a quick sale rather than holding out for a higher offer.
From our point of view, we should hold out as we're in no rush to move and we surely hold the aces in this case.
I think we could even refuse 310k, to see how the bidders respond. If they back out, we could always, accept it anyway.
Thanks,
Bill

athtrasna

Your house is only worth what someone will pay for it. How long has it been on the market? The market is constantly changing, I wouldn't be banking on what a house up the road went for earlier in the year. You're already at 25k more than the asking price, if this bidder pulls out who's to say you'll get an offer of that high again?

If the bidder backs out, don't be surprised if they tell you where to go if you go back to them. We did that in the height of the boom, the vendor refused a really strong bid of over 100k over the asking from us as they were holding out for every last cent. They came back to us and we told them we were no longer interested in dealing with them. Best decision we ever made.

billy_martin

athtrasna wrote: »

Your house is only worth what someone will pay for it. How long has it been on the market? The market is constantly changing, I wouldn't be banking on what a house up the road went for earlier in the year. You're already at 25k more than the asking price, if this bidder pulls out who's to say you'll get an offer of that high again?

If the bidder backs out, don't be surprised if they tell you where to go if you go back to them. We did that in the height of the boom, the vendor refused a really strong bid of over 100k over the asking from us as they were holding out for every last cent. They came back to us and we told them we were no longer interested in dealing with them. Best decision we ever made.

Yes, hopefully they are prepared to pay more than 310k.
It has been on the market for about 2 weeks and had instant interest and numerous re-visits.
We're not really at 25k above the asking price.
We told the estate agent we would only consider anything of 310k or above and that's where we are now.
They said the best tactic was to start the asking price low, which we agreed to.
We are also in a position to reject and tell the bidder "where to go".

BabySlam

OP, I think it would not be unreasonable to decide after 4-6 weeks of viewing. You could signal to the EA that you plan to make a decision on "the offers" mid-November. S/He can pass that on to the bidder if s/he wants to. You have nothing to lose if you are confident there is a lot of interest.

Idioteque

Hi, I see you're new to boards.ie - welcome

I think you need to be mindful of the fact that a lot of people use this site. I'd advise against putting up too much actual info and what your 'plan' is OP.

You can get some good info by searching previous posts and also by talking in generalities.

My advice is that if you are no rush to move as you say, you can hold out for more if you think it is realistic - you really need to get an understanding of the market around you. The property price register is a good place to start. https://www.propertypriceregister.ie/website/npsra/pprweb.nsf/page/ppr-home-en

Best of luck.

billy_martin

BabySlam wrote: »

OP, I think it would not be unreasonable to decide after 4 - 6 weeks of viewing. You could signal to the EA that you plan to make a decision on "the offers" mid-November. S/He can pass that on to the bidder if s/he wants to. You have nothing to lose if you are confident there is a lot of interest.

Yeah, I would have figured the same.
If we're paying the EA for selling the home, we shouldn't accept straight away the first reasonable bid.
As Athtrasna said someone will only pay what the market holds.
So that is what we'll do, wait for a few weeks and see what the market holds.

Idioteque wrote: »

Hi, I see you're new to boards.ie - welcome

I think you need to be mindful of the fact that a lot of people use this site. I'd advise against putting up too much actual info and what your 'plan' is OP.

You can get some good info by searching previous posts and also by talking in generalities.

My advice is that if you are no rush to move as you say, you can hold out for more if you think it is realistic - you really need to get an understanding of the market around you. The property price register is a good place to start.

Best of luck.

Thanks Idioteque,
Thought I was keeping it general.
I actually was using property price register to look at house values around here.

Rew

Have you asked your EA what the financial position is of the bidders? We had people bid on our house that were in no position what so ever to buy it. Not unreasonable to say its only on the market 2 weeks and you will give it 2 more before making a decision but be careful not to lose the fish you have there may not be plenty more in the sea.

riclad

Just because 1 house sold for 320 k, does not mean your house is worth 320k.
IF you refuse 310,
you might end up selling for 295 .
A house is worth what someone will pay for it.
I would ask the agents advice,
but if it was my house i,d accept the offer.
Find out is this person getting a mortgage,
is he, she on a high income ,
Or is it a cash purchase.
ie the sale will proceed quickly .
is there a lot of houses for sale in your area.
what are they going for .

Pawwed Rig

Taking a week or so to consider an offer would not be unreasonable imo.
What the other house sold for is not really that relevant as the rules have changed over the last few months. A quick look on Daft would seem to indicate that 310K is good money for a 3 bed semi. If it is 4 beds or detached then might be a little cheap.

antoinolachtnai

I would take a little time but not too much. If you would both be happy to take the figure you mentioned, I would give this clear instruction to the estate agent.

I would be inclined to leave it on the market for at least a month just to be sure anyone interested sees it. Some people leave stuff on for months or years. At least two weeks must have elapsed alread so it is just two weeks longer.

It obviously depends how urgently you need to move.

dori_dormer

You also have to take Into account if your house is the only one in the estate, is it a desirable location?

I just looked on daft and there are 3 houses in rinawade, all around your asking price. Yours could be one of these I don't know. This means anyone Interested in that estate has loads of choice. If one owner doesnt accept the 310 , another will only be delighted. Unless yours is unique or has higher quality kitchen etc.

So just check the market, look at the competition. We accepted a n offer after a week. 3 bidders. Unless the estate agent is getting calls every day for viewings I'd seriously comsider accepting as there's lots on offer in your price range in leixlip.

Stojkovic

riclad wrote: »

I would ask the agents advice,.

I wouldnt ask an Estate Agent for the right time.

athtrasna

Mod note Constructive replies are appreciated in this forum. Stojkovic please do not post on this thread again.

Stojkovic wrote: »

I wouldnt ask an Estate Agent for the right time.

riclad

Yes ,you could turn down the bid,
and the buyer might look elsewhere .
or maybe offer a bit more .
Maybe think about it for as few days,
let the agent say,
the 310 bid is being considered.
The bidder will probably know ,he has got the highest bid in.
its like playing poker.
if 310 is refused ,he might just move on and look at other houses .
there.s plenty of houses for sale under 280k in dublin.
Does your house have a large garden,
a large kitchen,
something that ,makes it more than a standard semi d 3bed house.
you are basically trying to get another 10k,
4 per cent of the offer price.
I tend to trust local estate agents,
they know the area.
They are dealing with bids every day.

Eric Cartman

OP I don't know what estate your house is in , but if its a 3 bed semi in leixlip your competing against the new houses coming in below the 320k mark. You'd be hard pushed to show your houses value up against some of the new builds.

if its a 4 bed id say plug away, but 310 for a second hand 3 bed in leixlip would be a decent offer I wouldn't be turning down. (your not going to get the 2006 price for it)

Roselm

Also the prices on the property price register are 6 months out of date or so. As in a house is sale agreed at a certain price but by the time the sale goes through (which is when the price is logged in the website) it could be months later.
So you are not seeing current values on the PPR which is relevant if prices are rising or falling swiftly

riclad

I don,t think prices went up in dublin, in most area,s since the 20 per cent deposit rule came in.

Butters1979

2 weeks is not a long time to be on the market so I wouldn't feel like you have to rush to agree to the sale. However as others have said you need to be sure you can get more. If you are looking for more than people will pay (very hard to predict) or are competing with other houses for sale in the area you may not get a better offer or even lose this one.
If you are not getting further offers at this point I wouldn't wait too long.

Henry Ford III

It's a bit of a minefield I reckon.

Obviously as a seller you want the best achievable price, but at the same time you don't want to jeopardise a potential sale by holding out for the last €1.

riclad

At some point you have to accept a bid ,
you can be sure that you got a fair price re the value of houses in the area .
IF you wait to long the bidder may move on to another house .
No one can value a house down to the last euro .
its not an exact science .
People are paying for the location , not just the bricks and mortar .
It,s like how many want to live in area x ,in 2015 ,and also can get a loan of 280k plus .

Uno my Uno.

Two weeks is not a long time to be on the market but equally you don't want to lose a reasonable offer. you say that you can "always go back to the buyer" but the buyer might no longer be interested.

As mentioned above there is more to an offer then the figure, specifically is the buyer in a chain, do they require a mortgage?